2 out of 4 stars
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The supernatural young adult novel, Blood Crescent by S.M. McCoy, follows teenage Crystal as she tries to wrap her mind around the themes of friendship, trust, deception, reincarnation, and identity.
Crystal’s passion is locating her missing mother and to understand the truth of what happened to her. However, she’s losing bits of time and her clairvoyant guardian, Aislin, has no other choice but to share with Crystal that the world isn’t what it seems.
They live in a supernatural world and Crystal is right in the middle. Not only does she have to navigate her failing body, but also with the seemingly stranger vampire, Damien, who is pursuing Crystal. Slowly, she also learns her friend, Victor, isn’t who she thought he was. Will Crystal be able to accept who she truly is? Most importantly, who can she really trust?
Without giving too much, the author had an interesting take on vampires and shifters. It’s less messy and gruesome, which was nice to read. Also, the reincarnation scenes were intriguing and one in particular was very exciting. At the same time, it would have been beneficial if the supernatural and past scenes were explored more.
Most of the book is told in Crystal’s perspective, in the first-person, aside from one chapter. Logically, the reader gets to know her the best, but I didn’t feel I really got to know her well enough. For most of the beginning, she was envious, vain, and judgmental. These traits were less obvious toward the second half of the book, but that was because at that point, the story was more plot-focused than character-focused. Crystal also was vaguely portrayed through reincarnated visions, but they were mere glimpses. As far as the other characters are concerned, they were at best two-dimensional.
For most of the beginning, the plot direction seemed unclear. Nothing really happens until about a third of the book and even then it was choppy. The numerous times where Crystal rambled about makeup, dresses, and how people looked drastically took away from the story and did not add to the text. Also, I found the long-winded analogies to food and weather, and her over-explaining tendencies to be misplaced.
Aside from the aspects that took away from the main storyline, the author explores several concepts, but doesn’t develop them fully. For instance, each supernatural entity were merely introduced. Also, the reincarnation, the unclear relationships between the two men, the involvement of a mysterious council, the true parentage of Crystal, and the significance of the moon were barely described. Perhaps the author will dive deeper in her upcoming book.
Unfortunately, there were also a number of errors throughout. The errors included missing punctuation, run-on sentences, inconsistent capitalization, and the uncertainty of who was speaking when at times. This causes some issue with the intended audience, young adults. Those young adults who are weaker in the English language may not benefit from reading a text that needs more editing.
Overall, the book has an interesting premise and a somewhat unique take on typical supernatural creatures. However, the plot, character development, and errors need to be worked on more to make this a solid read. Therefore, I give Blood Crescent a 2 out of 4 stars, and could see young adults enjoying this one.
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Blood Crescent
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